A variety of Solid State Drive (SSD) architectures exist, such as Single Level Cell (SLC) architectures and Multi-Level Cell (MLC) architectures (e.g., non-volatile NAND storage). An SLC architecture allows a memory cell to store one bit of data. Traditionally, an MLC architecture meant that a memory cell could store two bits of data. But, architectures have evolved and now provide even higher levels of density, such as Triple Level Cell (TLC) architectures that store three bits per memory cell and Quad Level Cell (QLC) architectures that store four bits per memory cell. So now, any architecture storing more than one bit of data per cell may also be referred to as a MLC architecture.
Generally, MLC architectures have higher read and write latencies than SLC architectures. But, their higher densities provide the advantage of smaller footprints in electronic devices. So, their use is rapidly increasing. Still, their latencies can be an issue. As such, some manufacturers may implement multiple architectures as part of a hybrid SSD such that the SSD can enjoy the advantages of each architecture.